Coping Skills

Bullying in Middle School Through the Lens of a Middle School Diary and Memoir

Bullying in Middle School Through the Lens of a Middle School Diary and Memoir

Firstly I want to pre-warn you that my guest Meghan Joyce Tozer and I discuss some tough topics during this episode. Today’s podcast talks about sexual abuse and suicide. We encourage you to keep this in mind when listening to this podcast. Please be aware, especially if younger ears are listening, and please click play with care. 

Sexual assault and harassment, sadly happens in schools on a too regular basis, whether that’s happening peer to peer or even between teacher to student. We hope our children never have to experience this. Knowing how to parent our children to take ownership of their bodies, so they know how to say no is key. We discuss how to navigate through abuse, bullying, harassment so they can get help is just as vital.  

In this episode, I speak with Meghan Joyce Tozer, author of the critically acclaimed novel Night, Forgotten and her annotated middle school diary, UnSlut: A Diary and a Memoir, which she wrote under the pen name Emily Lindin. The topics we cover are:

How to Talk To Kids About Anything: An Interview with Dr. Robyn Silverman

How to Talk To Kids About Anything: An Interview with Dr. Robyn Silverman

All parents will face that moment when they have to have some of life’s hard conversations and speaking with your child to prepare them for what comes in life is key. We don’t really know when the right time is but in life we have to put the building blocks in place relationally with our children so that when that time comes, we can have proactive, sensitive and good conversations. 

Take a listen to this episode where I speak to Dr Robyn Silverman about how to talk to your kids about anything. 

The topics we cover are:

Your Turn: How to Be an Adult - An Interview with Julie Lythcott-Haims

Your Turn: How to Be an Adult - An Interview with Julie Lythcott-Haims

Do you ever sit and think about how you actually became an adult? Think of all the skills you have from tying your shoelaces to presenting a report at work. How did we learn these skills? … with lots and lots of practice! And for us to practice, our parents or caregivers have to ease the control a little to allow us to make mistakes. Imagine if your parents still followed you around all day waiting to tie your shoelaces or stand up in front of your colleagues to make that presentation themselves, life wouldn’t be very fulfilling would it! Take a listen to this episode where I speak to Julie Lythcott-Haims about how parenting is about letting go of control. 

The topics we cover in this episode are:

Sensory Based Strategies for Kids: An Interview with Claire Heffron from The Inspired Treehouse

Sensory Based Strategies for Kids: An Interview with Claire Heffron from The Inspired Treehouse

Does your child like to move and fidget a lot? Maybe lay upside down or spin around in circles? This isn’t just a random act of silliness or hyperactivity, they are likely gaining sensory input! In this episode, my guest Claire and I discuss proprioception, which is your body's ability to sense movement, action, and location. It's present in every muscle movement you have. Without proprioception, you wouldn't be able to move without thinking about your next step. We also discuss the vestibular system which functions to detect the position and movement of our head in space. This allows for the coordination of eye movements, posture, and equilibrium.

The topics we cover in this episode are:

Seven tips to help kids use coping skills when they NEED them

Seven tips to help kids use coping skills when they NEED them

Let me ask you a question - if you had a magic wand and could fix one major problem or difficulty you have with teaching kids coping skills when they need them most, what would you change? I asked my email list this very question and got some interesting answers. This episode will give you 7 strategies to help kids use coping skills when they need them most.

The topics I cover in this episode are:

Introduction to Zentangles: An Interview with Andrea Santogrosso

Introduction to Zentangles: An Interview with Andrea Santogrosso

When you are stressed, anxious or perhaps angry and need to calm down, what techniques do you use? There are so many out there, from yoga, meditation, exercise and mindfulness but today I will be speaking to my guest Andrea about one which you’ll love if you sit on the creative side of life. It’s a mix of art and mindfulness and it’s called ‘Zentangle’. 

The topics we cover in this episode are:

Raising a Mindful Generation: An Interview with Suzanne Tucker

Raising a Mindful Generation: An Interview with Suzanne Tucker

This week, Janine speaks to Suzanne Tucker a Parent Educator about the do’s, don’t’s, the should’s and shame that comes with parenting. Suzanne started Generation Mindful as she saw societal problems within herself and her own family, as well as in friends and family and she knew something needed to change. Listen into this episode to make yourself feel a whole lot better about living life as a parent! 

Helping Teens with Stress and Depression: An Interview with Elliot Kallen

Helping Teens with Stress and Depression: An Interview with Elliot Kallen

Firstly I want to pre-warn you that my guest Elliot Kallen and I discuss the topic of suicide. This might be an uncomfortable topic for you or perhaps younger ears are listening so please click play with care. 

Sometimes life throws us the most difficult of situations which stop us in our tracks and make us believe it’s too difficult to carry on. This was the unfortunate case for Elliot Kallen’s son and in turn for Elliot himself. But the impressive resilience of human beings allowed Elliot to carry on past his heart ache in order to help other families in similar situations so they wouldn’t have to feel the pain he went through. The strength he possesses is nothing short of amazing so I encourage you to listen to Elliot’s story and how he can help you and your child through depression.

The topics we cover in this episode are:

Making a Coping Skills Toolkit at Dollar Tree

Making a Coping Skills Toolkit  at Dollar Tree

In this episode, I am talking about coping skills tool kits that you can make at the Dollar Tree. I have previous similar episodes based on different stores such as Five Below, Target, Michael’s and Oriental Trading and one more general episode right back when I started this podcast. I talk about different styles of coping skills like relaxation, distraction, movement, sensory and processing.

The topics I cover in this episode are;

Using TV, Movies, and Books to Spark Conversations about Coping Skills

Using TV, Movies, and Books to Spark Conversations about Coping Skills

Starting a conversation with a child about their own struggles and coping skills can be difficult. The best way around that in my opinion is to show through examples in books and TV. We all know how hard direct feedback and critique can be, yet if it is explained in a lighter way using someone else as an example, it can be much easier to digest and a perfect way to teach children. 

The topics I cover in this episode are;

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